5 Things OET Examiners Look for in Letters
What OET markers actually check when reading your letter — the 5 observable patterns that separate Grade B from Grade C across all letter types.
OET examiners are trained readers. They follow a structured assessment process using 6 official criteria. But within that structure, there are specific patterns — signals that tell an experienced examiner within the first few seconds whether a letter is likely to reach Grade B or fall short.
Here are 5 of those patterns, with real before/after examples from the types of letters we correct every day.
Based on 9,500+ corrected OET letters
The patterns below are drawn from analysis of corrections completed since 2014, across nurses, doctors, physiotherapists, and pharmacists from more than 90 countries. They are not theoretical — they are the patterns that actually appear in failed letters, consistently.
Pattern 1: Purpose Clear in the First 15 Words
The rule: An examiner should know exactly why you are writing within the first sentence.
This sounds obvious. It is not consistently applied. In practice, a large proportion of the below-Grade-B letters we correct have vague or purpose-absent opening sentences.
Fails this criterion
”I am writing regarding Mrs. Fatima Al-Rashid, a 45-year-old homemaker, who has been under our care.”
The examiner must read further to understand why this letter exists. That is already a failure.
Meets this criterion
”I am writing to refer Mrs. Fatima Al-Rashid, a 45-year-old homemaker with Type 2 diabetes, for urgent ophthalmology assessment following newly identified macular changes on routine screening.”
Within one sentence: letter type (referral), specialty (ophthalmology), patient, and clinical reason. The examiner knows exactly what this letter is.
What your opening sentence must contain:
- The purpose verb: “refer,” “advise,” “request,” “inform,” or similar
- The recipient’s role or specialty
- The patient name and key demographic detail
- The clinical reason
Pattern 2: Information Is Selected, Not Copied
The rule: OET examiners are looking for evidence that you made clinical judgment calls about the case notes — not that you transcribed them.
A letter that includes every case note item in roughly the order they appear signals to the examiner that content selection did not occur. This fails the Content criterion regardless of how accurate the information is.
| For a physiotherapy referral after ACL tear | Include? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| ACL tear details (current problem) | Yes | Core reason for the referral |
| BMI 29 | Yes | Relevant to rehabilitation planning |
| Ibuprofen 400mg PRN | Yes | Relevant to pain management during rehab |
| Occupation: secondary school teacher | Yes | Relevant to return-to-work timeline |
| Appendectomy 1987 | No | Irrelevant to physiotherapy assessment |
| Hypertension (well-controlled) | No | Physiotherapist does not manage this |
| Lives with spouse and two children | No | Irrelevant to the physiotherapy decision |
Including the irrelevant items is not demonstrating thoroughness. It demonstrates that you did not understand what the specific reader needs.
Pattern 3: Register Matches Professional Clinical Correspondence
The rule: OET letters should sound like genuine clinical communication between healthcare professionals — not academic writing, not personal letters, not overly formal Victorian-era documents.
Too casual
"The patient is doing better now and wants to go home."
Better: "The patient's condition has improved with current management and is medically fit for discharge."
Too formal
"It is with the utmost respect that I humbly request your most expert attention to the case of the above-named patient."
Better: "I would be grateful for your specialist assessment at your earliest convenience."
Correct
"I would be grateful if you could arrange an urgent outpatient review within the next two weeks."
The test: could a clinician in your profession have written this sentence in a real clinical setting? If yes, it passes. If it reads as artificial in either direction, it does not.
Pattern 4: The Closing Contains a Specific Request
The rule: Grade B letters close with a specific, actionable request. Below-Grade-B letters close with a social formula.
Fails — no actionable request
”I hope this letter finds you well."
"Thank you for your kind attention to this matter."
"Please feel free to contact me if needed.”
Passes — specific and actionable
”I would be grateful for your assessment and recommendations regarding long-term pain management."
"Please arrange an urgent review within the next two weeks if possible."
"I would appreciate your input on whether surgical intervention is warranted at this stage.”
The closing paragraph is the action prompt. If the reader does not know what they are expected to do after reading your letter, the closing has failed — regardless of how well the rest of the letter is written.
Pattern 5: Language Errors Are Isolated, Not Patterned
The rule: Examiners distinguish between isolated slips (which all writers make) and patterned errors (which indicate a systemic gap in proficiency).
A single missing article in a 190-word letter is an isolated slip. Missing articles throughout the letter is a pattern — and patterns reduce the Language criterion score significantly.
| Error type | Isolated slip | Patterned error | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Article omission | Once or twice in letter | Throughout every paragraph | Significant reduction |
| Preposition errors | One wrong preposition | Same wrong preposition repeated | Moderate reduction |
| Tense inconsistency | Single tense slip | Switches tense throughout | Significant reduction |
| Spelling errors | One medication misspelled | Multiple medications misspelled | Moderate reduction |
What to do: Review your practice letters specifically for patterns. If an error appears more than twice in a single letter, you have a pattern — and targeting that specific pattern before your exam will have a measurable impact on your Language score.
How to Apply This to Your Own Writing
After each practice letter
- —Does your opening sentence contain the purpose verb, recipient, patient, and clinical reason?
- —Did you leave out any case note information? (You should have)
- —Does your closing contain a specific action request?
- —Are there any errors that appear more than twice?
When you receive feedback
- —Map each comment to the relevant criterion (1–6)
- —Track which criteria appear in your error list across multiple letters
- —Two-letter minimum to identify a pattern — don't act on a single-letter finding
Frequently Asked Questions
What do OET examiners look for? The 6 official criteria: Task Fulfilment, Content Appropriateness, Conciseness, Genre and Style, Organisation, and Language. The patterns that most reliably separate Grade B from below are: a purpose-explicit opening, evidence of content selection, professional register, a specific closing, and language free of patterned errors.
How do OET examiners mark letters? Examiners are trained and calibrated against a standardised marking scheme. They assess holistically against each criterion and apply a descriptor-based rating, not a checklist.
What is the most important part of an OET letter? The opening sentence. It sets the examiner’s expectation for the entire letter.
These 5 patterns appear in the letters we correct every day. They are the observable signals that trained examiners notice immediately — and the ones that are most directly addressable with targeted practice and feedback.
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Frequently asked questions
Common questions on this topic — full answers below.
What do OET examiners look for?
How do OET examiners mark letters?
Do OET examiners penalise for going over the word limit?
What is the most important part of an OET letter?
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